Metaphorical Music
by Nujabes

Metaphorical Music by Nujabes
Year: 2003
Release date: 2003-08-21
Overall rank: 2,819th   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
81/100 (from 122 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 2003 (54th)
Award Top albums of the 2000s (470th)
Award Best albums of all time (2,819th)

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Nujabes – Metaphorical Music (2LP)
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Nujabes Vinyl LP Set of 4 Metaphorical Music Modal Soul First 2nd collection
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Nujabes Metaphorical Music 2 LP Vinyl Record HOLP102 From Japan NEW
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Nujabes bestography

Metaphorical Music is ranked 2nd best out of 3 albums by Nujabes on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Nujabes is Modal Soul which is ranked number 1307 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 1,302.

Nujabes album bestography « Higher ranked (1,307th)
Modal Soul
This album (2,819th)
Metaphorical Music
Lower ranked (10,985th) »
Spiritual State

(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).

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Metaphorical Music track list

  Track ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 82 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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#
Track
Rating/Comments
1.
Track pick (850 - 35 votes)
Average Rating: 85 (35 votes)Comments: View 0
3.
Track pick (870 - 42 votes)
Average Rating: 87 (42 votes)Comments: View 0

Track pick (1000 - 100 votes) Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.

Metaphorical Music rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 2,819th | 2000s rank: 470th | 2003 rank: 54th

Metaphorical Music collection

Metaphorical Music ratings

Average Rating: 
81/100 (from 122 votes)
  Ratings distribution Help Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AV
where:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.

Showing latest 5 ratings for this album.  | Show all 122 ratings for this album.

Sort Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
55/100
 
03/16/2026 14:40 BoxFL  Ratings distribution  2,76751/100
 
80/100
 
01/09/2026 15:48 Exist-en-ciel  Ratings distribution  9,15570/100
 
85/100
 
05/29/2025 06:49 cicadelic  Ratings distribution  12,42573/100
 
5/100
 
01/05/2025 03:52 Proto  Ratings distribution  4,12433/100
 
90/100
 
10/27/2024 01:50 martinjaa  Ratings distribution  90087/100

Rating metrics: Help Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some albums can have several thousand ratings)

This album is rated in the top 1% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 80.9/100, a mean average of 80.0/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 81.7/100. The standard deviation for this album is 15.9.

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Metaphorical Music comments

Showing all 7 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)

Rating:  
100/100
From 03/07/2019 08:47 | #233178
Nujabes is a Japanese producer who is a jazz rap genius and the main pioneer of the lo-fi movement in hip-hop. Nujabes is one of the producers who has most influenced the rap scene in the 2000s. All these albums are excellents but my favorite remains "Metaphorical Music". "Metaphorical music", that's what I call the perfect album. From start to finish, the disc is a wonderful relaxing journey. Nujabes' approach to creating rhythms is truly impressive. Traditional hip-hop, imbued with colorful jazz, is what makes me dream the most. The sound of Nujabes is sweet, melancholy and extraordinarily beautiful. The way the piano melody flows with a simple but captivating boom beat, is suspended in the background in songs like "Blessing It" and "Kumomi". How the rhythmic and manic passages of the Horn in the Middle drum blend into this iconic chorus of the trumpet. The way the so-called trumpet chorus is followed by a small piano chorus. It's too engaging and hypnotic. The guitar loop on "Lady Brown" and the Low Key synth pattern on "Highs 2 Lows". The tracks are as natural as a wave caressing your feet or a summer breeze beautifies your cheeks. One of the most relaxing albums of all time.

10/10

Best track: "Lady Brown"
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 01/22/2018 00:51 | #206258
I do love Modal Soul. But this album is superior.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 01/20/2018 01:39 | #206017
Great album. Probably would make my overall chart if the album ended at 'Latitude (remix)'. The album starts to lag at the end and 'FILO'-'The final view' should probably have just been cut from the album. Overall, some of the best production I've heard in hip-hop and I expect no less from Nujabes
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (1 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 05/16/2016 21:33 | #166213
songs to save the world
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 01/17/2016 20:20 | #156857
a masterpiece of its own style...
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 01/17/2016 20:18 | #156855
A masterpiece of its own...
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 09/24/2014 17:35 | #122615
Not as good as his mangum opus (model soul) but Nujabes gives a glimpse of what is to come.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (1 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
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